276 NORTH AMKIUCAN mUDS. 



to that of tiie tniin]i('ter in the band. His notes he varies to an almost 

 infinite extent, at one time screaming with all his mij^ht, at another war- 

 blinsT Mitii all tiie -^urtness of tune and moderation of tiie Blueliird, and 

 again imparting to his voice a grating liarslniess that is indescribable. 



Tiie power of mimicry po.ssessed by the Jay, tlumgli dillerent from, is 

 liardly snrpa.ssed by tiiut of tlie Mocking-Dird. It especially delights to 

 imitate tlie cries of tiie Sparrow Hawlc, and at other times those of the IJed- 

 t.iik'd and lied-shonldered liawlcs are given with srndi similarity tiiat the 

 small birds lly to a covert, and tlie inmates of the poultry-yard art; in the 

 greatest alarm. Dr. .Tared P. Kirtland, of Cleveland, on whose grounds a 

 large colony of Jays took nji their abode and became very familiar, has given 

 me a very int'iresting accMiunt of their liabits. The following is an extract: 

 " They soon 1)ecame so familiar as to feed abunt our yards and corn-cribs. 

 At the dawn of every pleasant day throughout tlie year, the nesting-season 

 excepted, a stranger in my house might well sup]io.se tliat all the axles in 

 the country were screeching aloud for lubrication, hi-aring the harsh iind dis- 

 cordant utterances of these birds. During the <lay the poultry might be 

 frequently seen running into their hiding-places, and the gobbler with hia 

 upturned eye .searching the heavens for the enemy, all excited and alarmed 

 by the mimic utterances if the adapt ^■('ntriloquists, the Jays, sinnilating the 

 cries of the licil-shouldered and the I'ed-tailed JIawks. The domestic circle 

 of the barn-yard evidently never gained any insight into the deception by ex- 

 perience ; for, though the trick Avas repeated every few hours, the excitement 

 would always be re-enacted." 



When reareil i'nnn the nest, these birds become very tame, and are per- 

 fectly reconciled to contiiiement. Tliey very soon ow into amusing pets, 

 learning to imitate the human voice, and to simulate almost every sound that 

 they hear. Wilson gives an account of one that had been brought u]) in a 

 family of a gentlmnan in South Carolina that displayed great intelligence, 

 and had all the lo(iuacity of a parrot. This Itird cf)uld utter several words 

 with great distinctness, and, whciievt'r called, would innnediately answer to 

 its name with great sociability. 



The late Dr. Ksteep, of Canton, Ohio, an experienced bird-fancier, assured 

 Dr. Kirtland that he has invariably found the Blue Jay more ingenious, 

 cunning, and teachable than any other s]iecies of bird he has ever attempted 

 to instruct. 



Dr. Kirtland has also inlbrnied me of the almost invaluable services ren- 

 dered to the farmers in his neighliorhood, by the Blue Jays, in the destruo 

 tiiin of caterpillars. "When he first settled on his farm, he found every a]iplo 

 and wild-cherry tree in the vicinity extensively disfigured and denuded of 

 its leaves by the larva- of the Cliaiornnipf) amcrirana, or the tent catei'jiillar. 

 The evil was so extensive that even the best farmers despaired of counter- 

 acting it. Xot long alter tlie Jays colonized upon his place he found they 

 were feeding their young quite extensively with these larvae, and so 



